


Poolside Manner

by efrondeur



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Hate to Love, M/M, Slow Build, lifeguard AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-12
Updated: 2016-05-15
Packaged: 2018-06-07 22:22:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,234
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6827584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/efrondeur/pseuds/efrondeur
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Qrow is a sassy life guard working at an outdoor pool in Vale. James is the assistant manager tired of his bullshit.</p>
<p>AKA Lifeguard AU</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Inservice

**Author's Note:**

> I am a lifeguard, so I might reference a lot of things that might not make sense. Feel free to ask me in the tags what things mean, or send me an ask on my tumblr, which is linked at the bottom.
> 
> For now, here's the basics of what you'll need to know:
> 
> Inservice: Basically a practice that a guard has to go to every week to prove they still know how to do their job.
> 
> AED: automated external defibrillator, it's required in almost every building and can help shock a heart back into a regular pattern
> 
> VRT: Some pools do this, lots of them have different names for it, but essentially a manikin/weighted piece of mesh that looks like a human (called a shadow) is thrown into the pool to test a guard. The guard has to jump in and retrieve it within 30 seconds.
> 
> Audit: Again, some pools do this, but have different names. A head guard/assistant manager/manager will watch a specific lifeguard to make sure they are scanning and rotating correctly. It's pretty much a pop quiz you don't even know is happening.
> 
> Easy Seal Mask: used to safely breathe into someone's mouth while they are unconscious and not breathing.
> 
> 1 Lap of a fitness pool is almost always 25 yards, sometimes 50, but usually 25.
> 
> Whistle Codes: Different at most pools  
> 1 short: get patron's attention  
> 2 short: get another guard's attention  
> 3 short: call for a manager/assistant manager  
> 4 short: clear the pool  
> 1 long: minor but important medical emergency  
> 2 long: major medical emergency
> 
> Code Colors:  
> Yellow: minor medical emergency  
> Blue: major medical emergency  
> Green: medical emergency, but don't respond  
> Red: fire  
> Brown: violent person  
> Black: severe weather  
> Pink: missing person
> 
> I think that's it for now, I'll add more if it becomes relevant.

Qrow turned his car onto Beacon Boulevard. After taking one of the empty parking spaces on the road, he shut his car off and headed towards the building.

He knocked on the side door, and James came to let him in. “You’re late, Qrow,” he said as he opened the door.

Qrow shrugged and walked past him. James sighed. Qrow smirked. It technically wasn’t even day one and he was already getting under James’ skin. James sat back down in his chair, he was obviously the doorman for anyone who was late, which made Qrow’s smirk even bigger even more. Such a big promotion and he was given such menial work. It must be driving him crazy.

Qrow walked through the short corridor to the double doors leading to the outdoor pool. He stopped just outside of the doors and looked around. In a sea of red swimsuits and blue shirts, he saw Ozpin talking to about 15 guards that worked last summer, and Glynda was presumably talking to 20 new hires. They all looked nervous; she was no doubt putting the fear of god into them.

He vividly remembered her speech his first year. _Welcome to Beacon. Now, this isn’t Baywatch. You aren’t hear to get a paid for sitting in a chair and tanning. You are here because people don’t know how to watch their fucking annoying children and make sure they don’t fucking drown by being absolute dumbasses. You are here to save lives while the parents go sunbathe and gossip. You will eventually end up having to deal with blood, vomit, and fecal matter, especially diarrhea. You can’t complain if you have to do it. If you are late, mess up, don’t show up for a shift, or just generally do things that could get you or the pool in trouble you will get a mark on your record. Three marks and you’re fired. Got it? Good. Now time for whistle codes…_

He almost didn’t come back after that.

He smiled and laughed, and walked down to where Oz was talking with the other guards. He immediately recognized Summer and Tai, the others must have transferred from the other pool in the district. He clapped Taiyang on the back, and Tai turned to smile at him before looking back to Oz.

When Ozpin saw Qrow, he merely raised an eyebrow before turning back to the group, talking about how they “all had to be professional, after all this is a work place,” yadda yadda yadda.

After his speech, Glynda yelled to ask if Ozpin was ready, to which she earned a knowing smile and a nod. He and Glynda both walked towards the middle of the groups.

“We’re gonna play a little game,” explained Glynda, “and by ‘we’ I mean you. The group who can produce the loudest one-long whistle will win a prize.”

“What’s the prize?” asked Summer.

“You won’t have to swim 200 yards,” Glynda answered. A series of groans rang out from both groups.

“Didn’t the maintenance workers fill the pools like three days ago?” Tai asked.

“Yes. The water is at about 70 degrees.” More groans.

Ozpin laughed. “Returning guards, you will go first.”

Both he and Glynda took big steps back as Qrow, Summer, Tai, and the other guards brought the whistles from the lanyards around their necks to their mouths. There was a collective breath before the loudest, shrillest sound imaginable tore out of the tiny plastic whistles. The screeches rang out for about three seconds before finally stopping.

“Good job,” said Glynda. She turned to the other group. “New guards, your turn.”

They all looked around at each other before tentatively bringing the whistles up to their mouths. The saddest, weakest sound came from them. The noise was quiet and breathy. The returning guards absolutely cackled. Oz let out a small laugh, but Glynda tried to cover her laugh with a cough.

“New guards in the pool. 200 yards, let’s go,” Glynda ordered, leading them over to the fitness pool. They groaned and followed her, stripping off their shirts and hip packs.

Oz walked over to the group of guards still remaining on deck. “Okay, we are going to go over CPR and choking. Ah, there’s Coco.”

Coco was walking down the steps to the deck, carrying a large bin of adult and baby manikins. She put it down on the floor.

“Everyone, Coco Adel is going to be our head guard this year. She will be working alongside the manager, Glynda, and assistant manager, James. She will be helping out at inservices and helping conduct the audits and VRTs,” said Ozpin.

The group gave a her a quick round of applause. Coco smiled and nodded. “Now, everyone grab a partner and an adult and baby manikin.” Qrow and Tai paired up. Summer paired with a girl with black hair and golden eyes. He thought he heard her call the girl ‘Cinder.

Tai grabbed the manikins and walked over to Qrow, setting them on the ground in front of him.

“In your partners, chose who will go first,” Ozpin instructed. Qrow decided to go first. “We will start with the adult. Now, you come across an unconscious victim lying on the pool deck.”

“Surveying the scene,” Qrow and the guards said monotonously as they walked in a circle around the manikin.

“The scene is safe.”

Qrow got down onto his knees next to the manikin. He put his hands on it’s chest and shook. “Hey, hey are you okay?” the guards all said in the same tone.

“No response.”

Qrow put his index and middle fingers on the side of the manikin’s neck closest to him, under its jaw. He looked down at the manikin’s chest to check for breathing. He and the other guards counted to 10 and looked up at Oz, awaiting instruction.

“You don’t feel a pulse.”

Qrow turned to Tai and pointed at him. “You in the blue shirt, call 9-1-1 and get an AED.” Qrow then turned back to the manikin, placed his hands on the center of its chest, in line with its armpits with one on top of the other, locked his arms, and started giving chest compressions. He counted to 30 compressions and then got his easy seal mask out of his hip pack. He put the mask on the mouth and nose of the manikin and pressed his hands down to create the seal before giving two long breaths. Afterwards, he leaned back over the manikin and continued the compressions and breaths until Oz called time.

They switched partners and did the same thing over again.

The new guards came out of the pool, shivering and panting, and joined the older guards in CPR.

Then it was time for choking. Not actually choking someone, but victims–manikins–choking. They checked the scene, checked for signs of consciousness, and then went to work. It was the same as CPR, except the chest compressions were called chest thrusts, and the guards looked in the mouth after 30 thrusts. If they saw something, they finger swept it out, gave two breaths to check their work, and if the breaths didn’t go in, rinse lather and repeat. If they did, they had to monitor the victim until “EMS” arrived. Very methodical. Very boring.

Finally, first aid. That was always the worst, there were too many things to remember and too many ways to do each thing. _If someone has a bloody nose, lean them forward and give them tissues until it stops. For bee stings, use a credit card to get the stinger out. If the person is allergic, get their EpiPen, assuming they have one, put their hand around it, and administer it to the outer thigh for them. If they were having an asthma attack, get their inhaler, put their hand around it, and administer it for them. If they were having a heart attack, give them aspirin. If they had low blood sugar, give them a glucose packet. Blah, blah, blah. Never tell them that “I promise you’ll be okay” because then the pool is liable. EMS is called for everything except for minor wounds._

They ended up not having enough time to get into the water and work on saves as the new guards had too many questions on first aid, for which Qrow was thankful. Inservice had started at 8, just as the sun was going down, and it was almost 10 before they were told they could leave. Qrow didn’t want to get into the water that late, especially since it was so cold.

The old guards said goodbyes to each other, Glynda, Oz, and Coco. The new guards awkwardly shuffled out of the deck and building. Qrow offered to give Tai a ride home so that he wouldn’t have to ride his bike, but Summer had already offered and he had already accepted.

Qrow waved and yelled goodbye to them as he got into the car. They waved back. Qrow turned the key in the ignition and his music instantly blasted through the speakers. Rude Boy played loudly as he pulled out of his spot.

James was walking out of the building as Qrow drove past. James glared at him and said something under his breath as he shook his head; he obviously didn’t appreciate the magnificence of Rihanna. Qrow smirked. "This is gonna be a fun summer," he said to himself. Qrow turned his music up and started singing as he drove off. 


	2. The Lighthouse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was a beautiful day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shoutout to [Ani](http://archiveofourown.org/users/AniPendragon/pseuds/AniPendragon) for helping me figure out some of the parts of this chapter.

It was a beautiful day in early June. The sun cast a bright, warm glow onto the town of Vale. The skies were a beautiful light blue and harbored the occasional cloud. There was a slight breeze that brought the perfect amount of cool wind. The lawns were green, meticulously mowed, and the tall trees brought a welcome shade. 

There were next to no cars on the road; the birds were chirping, someone was playing their guitar on their porch, absently strumming and picking at the strings, and the kids in the neighborhood were outside playing together as their parents sat and watched. All were laughing. Eventually one mother came out with lemonade and handed cups to each of the kids and adults.

It was the type of day where no one could resist the temptation of going outside, and Qrow was one of them. As he walked out of his house that afternoon, he could smell the fresh air, flowers, lawn clippings, and hell, even the dirt, and he couldn’t help but smile.

He called up Taiyang, hoping that his friend would be willing to spend the day outside with him. 

“Hell yeah, gimme a sec, I’ll bike over,” answered Tai. He didn’t even know why it was a question. Tai lived for the outdoors. It was only five days into the summer and Tai had already gotten a tan that some would kill for.

Qrow laid out on the lawn for a few minutes, enjoying the feel of the grass on his back and soaking up the sun. He looked up at the sky and watched of the few clouds that dotted it move slowly on by until he heard the sound of Tai’s bike on the sidewalk next to his house. The man lived fifteen blocks away and he still managed to get there in almost four minutes.

The two laid in the grass for a while talking before they decided to go out biking and enjoy the day. 

The two pedalled leisurely through the streets of the neighborhood, nothing more than small conversations passing between them as things caught their eyes as they went. The road had recently been paved and the ride was smooth. 

They were out for about two hours before they decided to go back to play catch. There was something oddly relaxing about just tossing the ball around. It always seemed that, after a while, no thought was put into the action, just the words that passed. 

However, as the two got back to Qrow’s house, they saw Summer’s car in the driveway.

“Get in bitches, we’re getting food,” called Raven from the passenger’s seat. Qrow and Tai laughed as they came to a stop, but Summer hit her on the arm. “What?”

“Don’t be rude,” said Summer. The men walked their bikes out into the yard, putting down the metal rod to keep them from falling over, and headed over to the car.

“I was merely stating the obvious: they’re bitches, and we’re going to get food with them.” 

Qrow laughed again while he and Tai climbed into the car. “Just don’t forget, the three of us have facility training at seven tonight. Y’know, because these bitches  _ actually show up _ to work,” said Qrow pointedly towards Raven as he gestured to Tai, Summer, and himself.

“Hey! I go when it suits me,” said Raven, who folded her arms and stared straight forward with her head held high.

“Which is never. Honestly, how have you not gotten fired yet?” Summer asked.

Raven turned to her, arms bent at the elbows. “Ok, what the fuck? You’re supposed to be on my side,” pouted Raven. Summer laughed. Raven crossed her arms again.

“Where are we gonna go?” Tai asked Summer, purposefully changing the subject as they pulled out of the drive way. It was customary: whoever drives gets to pick what they do, or in this case, what they eat.

“I dunno yet. Somewhere in The Lighthouse,” she responded. Tai nodded. There were plenty of small restaurants and stores there, so if they didn’t all agree, someone could quickly run somewhere else to get what they wanted.

They rolled down the windows, and Raven connected her scroll to the car. They all recognized the starting notes of Single Ladies and started belting out the lyrics. People watched them as they drove by, but they didn’t care. 

As they stopped at the light right next to Vale Lake, which was separated from The Lighthouse Plaza by the road they were on, Summer started doing the Single Ladies dance in the driver’s seat. Tai and Qrow looked at each other and laughed as they watched her try and fail to dance like Beyonce. Raven pretended like she didn’t know who any of them were and started out the window, attempting to hide a smirk.

They pulled onto the street that ran through The Lighthouse and into a parking space at the very beginning of the plaza. It was absolutely packed, which was normal for a nice day such as this. 

Cars filled almost all of the parking spaces, people crowded the sidewalks, and the stores were overflowing with people.  Carefully trimmed trees lined the sidewalks. People played in the fountain in the center of the plaza, running around in the water and splashing each other. Qrow felt an odd inclination to pull out a whistle and tell them to stop horsing around. Oh well, once a lifeguard, always a lifeguard.

They got out of the car and followed Summer through the throngs of people and down the long sidewalk. Tai and Summer were in front of Qrow and Raven. Tai was telling Summer about his workout that morning, and she was giving him pointers on how to make each set hit more muscle groups. Qrow and Raven listened to them, occasionally looking at each other and rolling their eyes because, god, they were both such jocks. 

Eventually Summer led them into Pagoda Inn, their favorite chinese restaurant. The place was buzzing with life. They could smell the garlic, ginger, and soy sauce as they walked in. There was something else too… Peanuts, or was it cashews? Whatever. They ordered their food at the register, and then sat in a booth, Raven and Summer on one side, Tai and Qrow the other.

They talked about various things, mostly about how excited they were about all their plans for the summer. Tai and his family were planning to go on a hike through the mountains a couple hours north of Vale. Summer was planning on working as much as she could to save up for college. Qrow couldn’t wait for all the parties that had been planned for the next few weeks, and Raven was just hoping to have a nice quiet summer at home. Once they received their food, they fell into a comfortable silence as they ate.

The bell on the door ringed as it was opened. Qrow looked up to see none other than James Ironwood. He was in his work clothes; he must have been sent to get food for Glynda, Ozpin, Coco, and himself before facility training started. His red shirt and khaki shorts stood in stark contrast to his metal arm and leg. Qrow still never quite understood how someone could recover from such a heavy blow, and from what he heard, his doctors couldn’t either.

Qrow nudged Tai with his elbow and nodded his head over to where James was paying for the food. Tai looked up and smirked. The two silently watched James pay for his food. Summer saw the two of them watching James and rolled her eyes before turning back to her food, mumbling something about them being creeps.

Qrow waited until James got the food and turned to leave before saying anything.

“Hey James, gonna save any for us?” Qrow called out to him, smirking. James frowned and turned towards the sound before recognized Qrow, Tai, and Summer. 

His body sagged as he sighed and rolled his eyes at Qrow. “Don’t be late this time,” he called back as he walked out the door of the restaurant. 

Once he was out of sight, Qrow laughed. “I really don’t get why you harass him so much,” said Summer as she finished her food.

“It’s because James reacts,” Raven answered for him, also rolling her eyes. She pushed her plate away from her and rested a hand on her stomach.

“That  _ and _ because he just makes it so easy. Plus he hates me, so any chance I can force him to talk to me is just all that much better,” added Qrow, pointing his fork between Raven and Summer.

“Y’know he can get you fired now,” said Tai, with his mouth full. Raven gave him a look of disgust. He opened his mouth and showed her his food.

“Don’t be gross,” said Summer. When he didn’t close his mouth, she reached across the table and did it for him.

Qrow shrugged. There was no way Ozpin would let James fire him over such a menial matter. Glynda had even pointed out to two guards who had been fighting that, “you don’t have to like who you work with, but you do have to be civil.” It wouldn’t surprise him if Oz was the one who taught her that. Although one could argue that Qrow wasn’t exactly being civil, but whatever.

Qrow and Tai finished their food. The four left a tip on the table and headed back to Summer’s car. It was almost 6:30. The ride back was quiet, save for the soft sounds of the radio playing. They were all too full to hold up much of a conversation. 

Summer pulled into the driveway and dropped Raven off. Then she and Qrow helped put Tai’s bike in her trunk before heading over to Beacon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are love.
> 
> You can find me on tumblr [here](http://qrowisbae.tumblr.com)

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are love.
> 
> [You can find my tumblr here](http://qrowisbae.tumblr.com)


End file.
